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What was very, very likely for the Tennessee Titans became official Sunday.
They're not going to the postseason.
And to make matters worse for the Titans, they not only were knocked from the postseason Sunday for a second consecutive season, they looked pretty bad getting eliminated.
The Titans, who entered the game with only mathematical chances of making the playoffs, fell behind 24-0 before losing 34-14 to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday afternoon.
Afterward, Titans players tried to explain a season that began with the promise of a 5-2 start only to end with seven losses in eight games entering next week's regular-season finale at Indianapolis.
"We didn't recover from the adversity we faced soon enough,'' Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean quoted Titans guard Jake Scott as saying. "Everyone deals with adversity in this league and we didn't handle it well this year. ...
"It was a culmination of everything, and you have to handle it, and we didn't.''
The Titans lost six consecutive games after their 5-2 start, a streak that included turmoil between Titans coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young. The team also was hurt by injuries, most notably a hamstring injury that cost breakout wide receiver Kenny Britt four games.
"Guys didn't respond to adversity well and we went on the six-game skid and that killed it for us," fullback Ahmard Hall said. "We got into a position where we had to win every game and you can't put yourself in that situation in this league.
"You have to make plays on the field, too. Mistakes, penalties killed us. We were too undisciplined as a team. Still, you have to block those distractions out and play football, and we didn't do a good job of that.''
As Wyatt described it, the mood in the Titans' locker room was somber, with safety Michael Griffin even discussing potential change. Fisher's job security has been called into question after 16 seasons.
The Titans are the only team in the NFL to have losing streaks of six or more games each of the past two seasons.
"I don't think anyone is safe when you go through something like this," Griffin said. "And if changes are made and new coaches come in, that affects everybody. No one is safe.
"That's why we have to continue to keep playing hard because you know if you're not here next year, you could be looking for a job somewhere else.''
Michael Griffin as Titans' Lost Season Winds Down: 'No One Is Safe'
Dec 26, 2010 – 10:45 PM
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